Pitney Bowes Launches Web Site Focused on Intelligent Mail Barcode Implementation
Wednesday, 09 January 2008
Recent years have seen profound changes sweeping through the mailing industry: postal reform, shape-based pricing, and a host of other initiatives that have forced mailers to rethink every aspect of their strategies and operations. This pace of change will not let up in 2008 as the industry prepares for the next major shift: widespread deployment of the Intelligent Mail® barcode requirement, a change that will be largely invisible to consumers but that has vast implications for mailers of all sizes.
To help these organizations learn more about the Intelligent Mail® barcode and other initiatives, Pitney Bowes maintains a website dedicated to providing information on such major initiatives and has now added the latest information about the Intelligent Mail® barcode. The site (www.pbpostalinfo.com) contains a basic overview of the subject, with links to a new Pitney Bowes white paper about the barcode, and to other useful background information and contacts.
“The need for clear, concise facts about the Intelligent Mail® barcode program will only grow over time,” said Pitney Bowes President and CEO Murray Martin. “We want our customers, and all mailers, to get timely and actionable information that will help them stay ahead of the curve as the proposed deadlines approach.”
The Intelligent Mail® barcode is the tool that the United States Postal Service will use to dramatically enhance its service to mailers. The barcode has the capacity to uniquely identify every piece of mail entering the postal system, a first for the Postal Service.
This technology will enable unprecedented visibility into the postal network for mailers and for the Postal Service itself, opening the door to a host of new and valuable opportunities for companies to make their mailings even more efficient and effective. For example, the advanced barcode will enable mailers to track all outbound statements and inbound payments, greatly improving customer communications when there is a question about a bill or payment.
The barcode was first introduced in 2006 and has been largely a voluntary program for mailers. More than one billion pieces of mail have already been processed with the new technology, and in 2009 the Postal Service may make use of the Intelligent Mail® barcode mandatory for mailers who want to receive certain postal discounts. This is a powerful incentive for companies to adopt the new technology, and to upgrade their systems and work processes to support its use.
“This is the first major change in mail barcode technology in more than twenty years, so many companies will be in uncharted territory,” Martin said. “The sooner they can get the information they need, the sooner they can begin to make the changes required to meet the Postal Service’s requirements. These are important investments to make that will pay outstanding long-term dividends.”